Education changes aimed at gifted children

Kelly Lamrock says system needs to ensure all children reach their full potential
A11 By Aloma Jardine, Times & Transcript Staff

Education Minister Kelly Lamrock says its time none of our students get left behind -- and that includes the gifted ones.

Lamrock says much of the focus in the education system in recent years has been on struggling students, those who need extra help to succeed.

While that is as it should be, Lamrock says the province also needs to focus attention on the high achievers who need extra resources equally badly.
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In an effort to change that, Lamrock is implementing several new initiatives this coming school year.

Each week, all elementary school children -- children in kindergarten through Grade 5 -- will have a half-hour set aside specifically for enrichment activities.

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Lamrock says it is difficult to put an exact dollar figure on how much these new initiatives will cost.

[Blogger's comment --- Makes you wonder how much thought went into this plan.]

Some "choice" comments from the public posted on Times and Transcript's webpage about this announcement
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Let me get this straight - Lamrock kills EFI, a program that challenged children, gave them the best chance of becoming bilingual, and was open to EVERYONE. Now he is proposing to pull a FEW kids out to work one-on-one with resource teachers, but only if they qualify as gifted. Welcome to the twilight zone - Lamrock style.

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Anonymous Reader on 26/04/08, 11:06:24 AM ADT
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"We need a school system where every child reaches their full potential and that should apply to kids whose potential is extremely high," he says. "The school system shouldn't only be about lifting everyone up to a level of mediocrity, it should be about letting everyone do as well as they could possibly do.

That applies to French education too Mr. Lamrock. Your anti-french bias is showing. Why is mediocrity acceptable when it comes to learning French?

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Anonymous Reader on 26/04/08, 11:12:24 AM ADT
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30 minutes. WOW! watch those high flyers SOAR!
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Anonymous Reader on 26/04/08, 12:21:04 PM ADT

What a pathetic attempt at regaining some points with parents.

Watch for it folks, it won't be long until they announce some early years French exposure... likely something as useless as this.

all in a lame attempt to quiet the outrage in the province.

Good luck with that!

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Anonymous Reader on 26/04/08, 4:41:03 PM ADT
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What a dog's breakfast our education system is going to become. Is Lamrock _trying_ to kill public education in N.B.? Because if he goes on this way, I predict a huge growth in various private school options for those who can afford them, a significant outflow of our teachers to provinces that would value them (i.e. any province other than N.B.), and a completely debased educational system for everyone else.

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Anonymous Reader on 26/04/08, 11:09:55 PM ADT
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Trading 90% class time in second language acquisition for 30 minutes of project learning seems an extraordinarily poor bargain. And where are we going to find specialists in gifted education? Are we going to hire them from the same pool as the additional arts and music teachers and other 8 foot tall purple people the government seems to have access to? And send pink slips to our French immersion teachers? Maybe Mr. Lamrock could start listening to parents and teachers rather than spouting off at the mouth with one ridiculous idea after the next.

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Anonymous Reader on 27/04/08, 9:48:30 AM ADT

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